Parshat Vayeira: Seeing is Believing Genesis 22:14 וַיִּקְרָ֧א אַבְרָהָ֛ם שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא יְהֹוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֙ יֵאָמֵ֣ר הַיּ֔וֹם בְּהַ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה יֵרָאֶֽה׃  And Abraham named that site “the Lord will see” which why it is said, On the mount of the LORD there is vision  They say seeing is believing. This is true in more than one way: To be close to God means to see…

Parshat Lech Lecha: RoadblockGenesis 15:11 וַיֵּ֥רֶד הָעַ֖יִט עַל־הַפְּגָרִ֑ים וַיַּשֵּׁ֥ב אֹתָ֖ם אַבְרָֽם׃  Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away  At nearly 100 years old, Abraham is instructed to ritually sanctify the covenant between himself and God by sacrificing specific animals and laying out their flesh in a particular pattern. Abraham does so and prepares himself…

Parshat Noah: The Ark We’re InGenesis 8:16 צֵ֖א מִן־הַתֵּבָ֑ה אַתָּ֕ה וְאִשְׁתְּךָ֛ וּבָנֶ֥יךָ וּנְשֵֽׁי־בָנֶ֖יךָ אִתָּֽךְ׃  “Come out of the ark, together with your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives”  All of us have experienced the “ark” effect at some point this past year. It can be summed up like so: the world outside is dangerous, and here in my ark, I…

Parshat Bereshit: What’s Your Verse?Genesis 5:1 זֶ֣ה סֵ֔פֶר תּוֹלְדֹ֖ת אָדָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם בְּרֹ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אָדָ֔ם בִּדְמ֥וּת אֱלֹהִ֖ים עָשָׂ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ׃ “This is the story of the generations of Adam. On the day God created Adam, God made him in the image of God.” If you had to choose one verse to describe the whole Torah, which would you choose? There is a debate…

Shabbat Sukkot: Put the Load Right On MeExodus 33:14 וַיֹּאמַ֑ר פָּנַ֥י יֵלֵ֖כוּ וַהֲנִחֹ֥תִי לָֽךְ׃ “And God said, I will go in the lead and will lighten your burden.” Being a human being is hard. Sure, there are good days. Still, we are guaranteed to experience pain, grief, and disappointment. We cannot prevent these from occurring, but we have a remedy…

Parshat Ha’azinu: Rain PlanDeuteronomy 32:2 יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב׃ “May my teaching come down as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, like showers on young growth, like droplets on the grass.” This year, our High Holy Days services took place in a tent, which meant we were at the mercy of the…

Parshat Vayeilech: United We StandDeuteronomy 31:11 בְּב֣וֹא כׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לֵֽרָאוֹת֙ אֶת־פְּנֵי֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִבְחָ֑ר תִּקְרָ֞א אֶת־הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּ֛את נֶ֥גֶד כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּאׇזְנֵיהֶֽם׃ “When all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place that God will choose, you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel.” By coincidence, I recently came across a shirt given to…

Parshat Nitzavim-Vayeilech: Hidden ThingsDeuteronomy 29:28 הַנִּ֨סְתָּרֹ֔ת לַיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹ֞ת לָ֤ׄנׄוּׄ וּׄלְׄבָׄנֵ֙ׄיׄנׄוּ֙ׄ עַׄד־עוֹלָ֔ם לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ “The hidden acts belong to Hashem our God; but the overt acts are for us and our children to forever apply all the words of this Teaching.” A friend once asked me the following question: what’s more important – how you act when you…

Parshat Ki Tavo: Heads and TailsDeuteronomy 28:44 ה֣וּא יַלְוְךָ֔ וְאַתָּ֖ה לֹ֣א תַלְוֶ֑נּוּ ה֚וּא יִהְיֶ֣ה לְרֹ֔אשׁ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה לְזָנָֽב׃ “He [your foe] shall be your creditor, but you shall not be his; he shall be the head and you the tail.” The Torah appears to say that it is always better to lead than to follow. The assumption is that being…

Parshat Ki Teitzei: GroundedDeuteronomy 23:14 וְיָתֵ֛ד תִּהְיֶ֥ה לְךָ֖ עַל־אֲזֵנֶ֑ךָ וְהָיָה֙ בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֣ ח֔וּץ וְחָפַרְתָּ֣ה בָ֔הּ וְשַׁבְתָּ֖ וְכִסִּ֥יתָ אֶת־צֵאָתֶֽךָ׃ “You shall have a spike in addition to your gear, and it will be that when you sit outside, you shall dig with it; you shall cover up your excrement” First, let’s applaud the Rabbi’s courage for choosing the verse that refers to…